Straight jacket: two layers of fawn cloth-canvas (or hessian). No sleeves or armholes; shaped at shoulder to enclose arms against body. Hand sewn with heavy thread. (String or twine). Closes with six pairs of eyelets, all overstitched with same twine (which seems to have a coating).Nonecostume, sunbury asylum, george evans collection

Worn by patients at Sunbury Asylum.Undershorts in flannel (fawn and red stripe). Waistband backed with heavy calico. Front closes with two black buttons and back has two adjusting ties made of cotton tape. There are two lengthwise keepers on the waist fronts. Combines hand and machine sewing.Inner waistband stamped "Mental Hospital - Sunbury" in red circle. "Flannel underpants male" handwritten in ink inside waistband.costume, sunbury asylum, george evans collection

Belonged to Kathleen Marjorie Dunn (nee McKenzie)Day dress in fine silky fabric. It has a blue, white and green floral pattern on a navy ground. The skirt is gathered to the waist in two places in front and has two darts at the back. The sleeves are short, set in, gathered at the shoulder and end in inverted V shapes. The bodice is shaped with two sets of gathers in front and two darts at the back. The square neck dips to a shallow point in front, fastens with six self-covered shanks behind and is edged with cream net frill (probably discoloured white). There is a side vent wiht four press studs on the left at waist level. The hem is hand sewn.Nonecostume, george evans collection

Belonged to Kathleen Marjorie Dunn (nee McKenzie)Formal day dress in black crepe. It has a round neck and short set-in sleeves. The front opens from neck to waist and has four self-covered shank buttons. The bodice is slightly gathered at two points front and back. The skirt is gathered centre front with seven rows of shirring. The bodice features six arabesques in black and white beads. The skirt has two false pockets with similar beading. A small vent at the left waist closes with a hook and eye. The dress is machine sewn with a hand sewn turn-up on the hem.Nonecostume, george evans collection

Used at Sunbury Asylum where two red buckets were placed in each ward, one filled with sand and one filled with sawdust, this was thought to have been encase of a fire breaking out. Sunbury Asylum closed in 1992 and became Victoria University of Technology.Red painted metal buckets with wire handles, one has wooden hand support. White writing stencilled on sides."Carpenter"sunbury asylum, george evans collection

The Cash Book was used by the Shire of Bulla Electric Light Department to record by hand writing costs associated with supplying electricity, employee wages and users of electricity between October 1909 and November 1926. The first two generators supplied the township of Sunbury and together with the erection of a Power House were officially opened in 1910. The State Electricity Commission took over the supply of electricity in Sunbury in 1926.Large green cloth covered hard cover with tan corners and spine. Tan and purple mottled pattern inside front and back cover."Arnall & Jackson/Engravers..."1900s, shire of bulla, sunbury, george evans collection

Two White Handkerchiefs white linen spoke stitched edge with crochet edge. Coloured Hand embroidered corner. Hand crocheted edge. Corner a square of crochet. Mrs E McClure (Dalkin) stawell clothing material

These type of brown paper grocery bags were commonly supplied by SSW Supermarkets, and also by other Supermarkets. The customers generally packed their own grocery purchases into the bags, while the checkout people were engaged in the time consuming process of accurately entering by hand, the price of each item into the cash registers. One local SSW Supermarket was situated on Sun Crescent in Sunshine. The introduction of stronger plastic film grocery bags and barcode scanning saved time, and the checkout person took over the role of packing the grocery purchases. In recent times customers who use the self check out terminals have again assumed the role of packing their own groceries. The environment polluting plastic bags however still remain, unless the customers bring their own 'green' bags.These two brown paper grocery bags provide a historical reminder of how grocery purchases were taken home from Supermarkets in the not too distant past. It is likely that many of the younger generation have no idea of how the paper grocery bags looked like, or that they were once used instead of plastic bags.Two brown paper bags which were available for free in SSW Supermarkets, so that customers could pack their grocery purchases to be able to take them home. The bags have SSW advertising printed on them in red, yellow, and navy blue inks.Large Bag: We Shop at .... SSW FOODSTORES STILL THE CHEAPEST DAY IN, DAY OUT! Smaller Bag: SSW SUPERMARKETS Still THE CHEAPEST DAY IN .... DAY OUT!brown paper grocery bag, ssw supermarket, food, grocery purchases, groceries.

O.F.M. was the ORDNANCE FACTORY MARIBYRNONG. Up to the end of June 1943 and at a time when the wages were about £5 ($10) to £6 ($12) per week Australia had spent £1,106,000,000 (£156 per head) on the war effort. A lot of the money was spent at home in making war necessities such as armaments, munitions, boots, clothing, and in providing special training. Significant increases in numbers occurred in the personnel employed in the fighting services, and also in the work force involved in the war effort. During the financial year 1942-1943 the war cost Australia £561,743,000 (over a billion dollars), while the Income Tax raised from individuals totalled only 16.5% of this amount. To finance the war the Australian government had previously borrowed money from the public, and from institutions such as the savings banks, friendly societies, and life assurance societies, by running three successfully subscribed Liberty Loans. The institutions had contributed considerably more money to these Liberty Loans than the public, however it can be argued that the public members of these institutions had also contributed some money indirectly. The 4th Liberty Loan which opened on 5 October 1943 and closed on 9 November 1943 was intended to raise £125,000,000, with the government aiming for 750,000 subscribers. Bonds costing £10 each could be bought on a time payment scheme. A total of £126,408,000 was raised at two different interest rates and maturity dates, however the number of subscribers had only reached 567,533. Some newspaper reports of the time indicate that the low number of subscribers was a partial failure of the loan, because spare money in the community could lead to inflation at a time when goods were in short supply. The government set target quotas on how much money should ideally be raised in a particular district, and how many subscribers should ideally take part. Often these quotas proved to be excessive. The Special Red Pennant Award as given to the No 1 FORGE O.F.M. was normally for achieving the highest per capita contribution within each particular group. What is unknown at this stage is what other entities were in the same group, or how large the group was. There were other variations of the awards such as those given to country districts, where a star was placed on the left hand corner of the pennant if the money quota was reached, while two or three stars indicated that the quota was doubled or tripled. A bar was also included on the pennant if the quota of subscribers was achieved, while two bars indicated double the quota of subscribers. The above information was sourced from Trove newspaper articles at: (1) http://nla.gov.au.nla.news-article70439716, (2) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141292541, (3) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11797265, (4) http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11788072, and from (5) http://static.awm.gov.au/images/collection/pdf/RCDIG1070158--1-.PDF (see page 580).This framed award has significance in that it serves as a historic reminder that the No 1 Forge O.F.M. and the Ordnance Factory Maribyrnong once existed within the Shire of Braybrook, and later the City of Sunshine, and that it was involved in the manufacture of ordnance for World War 2. It also serves as a historic reminder that it costs a huge amount of money for a country to be involved in a major war, and that a big contribution is required from the public to raise money and to produce goods for the war effort.Permanently sealed brown stained wood frame with a glass face. Enclosed behind the glossy glass is a triangular shaped pennant made of red felt material. The red colour appears to be somewhat faded. The inscriptions and markings on the pennant are in blue, gold, and white coloured inks.The AUSTRALIAN COAT OF ARMS diagram plus the following writing: SPECIAL AWARD / 4th LIBERTY LOAN / Oct.-Nov. 1943 / No 1 FORGE O.F.M.4th liberty loan, special award, ordnance factory maribyrnong, no 1 forge o.f.m., oct - nov 1943, red pennant

Associated with medal bar for dress uniform WW1. 1914-1918. Associated with dress uniform WW1. The ribbon bar is worn on the left hand side above the breast and the colours of the ribbons affixed determine the campaigns served and or other military awards with approval to wear. Circa WW1 1914-1918. Gold coloured metal and brass ribbon plate for military uniform (no ribbons affixed). The back of the plate has two round lugs and an attachment slide through pin. The front top of the metal bar has a feather leaf type pattern affixed on top of where the ribbon mount would sit. Nilribbon bar ww1, circa ww1 1914 - 1915, dress uniform ribbon bar ww1 (incomplete with no ribbons attached).

This certificate, drawn in a very elegant hand, contains the biographical information of Wilfred Busse. It is assumed to be a funeral or memorial card. Born in Chiltern in 1898, Wilfred Clarence Busse was educted at Wesley College and then the University of Melbourne. He became a barrister and through his time at the University of Melbourne studied with future Chief Justice and Governor of Victoria Sir Henry Arthur Winneke (1908–1985), as well as spending time in the chanbers of Sir Leo Finn Bernard Cussen (1859-1933), who was a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Busse also wrote two novels, 'The Blue Beyond' and 'The Golden Plague'. In 1931, 'The Golden Plague' was awarded the T. E. Rofe gold medal by the Henry Lawson Literary Society for its ''its vivid scenes of the Ovens River [gold] rushes, in the early [eighteen] fifties".Ivory rectangular certificate with rounded corners made of thick paper with inked writing and two small photographs mountedObverse: Wilfred Clarence Busse/ 1898 – 1960 / Barrister and Author / Born in Chiltern. Educated at Melbourne / University. Studied Law with former Governor / of Victoria Sir Henry Winneke. In 1928 / published his first novel, “The Blue Beyond”. / In 1930 published “The Golden Plague” for / Which he was awarded the Henry Lawson / Literary Society’s Gold Medal. / Wilfred Busse was a member of the Chiltern / Athenaeum. He valued the historical works / In the library. / wilfred busse, wilfred clarence busse, wilfred c. busse, busse, w.c. busse, "the golden plague: a romance of the early fifties.", "the blue beyond, henry lawson society, chiltern, chiltern athenaeum, chiltern athenaeum museum, sir henry arthur winneke, sir leo finn bernard cussen, funeral card, memorial card

Ladies’ gloves were an essential part of life in the 1840s to 1900 Victorian era, regardless of class most ladies wore gloves. The glove design, material, and fit would hint at a lady's status, despite their hands being covered. A shorter style of glove would have been used for daytime wear, along with the matching parasol cover and would be matched to the owner's outfit. Leather was a material often used since the 1900s, however when WWI hit the price of leather gloves increased and many resorted to cheaper materials for their accessories. Although particular styles for evening-wear gloves altered throughout the 20th Century, the classic neutral leather glove was a staple throughout Australian ladies' fashion during this time. The need for gloves and parasol cover however disappeared in the 1960s when gloves were only used in the winter months as a practicality rather than a fashion accessory.The leather gloves and parasol cover indicate the owner was wealthy and was able to spend money on good quality accessories. This may have been due to the fact that Chiltern was a gold-rush town and would have had some wealthy families living there from the late 19th Century. The leather items are a symbol of such wealth and social signifiance in the rural town of Chiltern.Gloves: Beige colour with brown hand stitched detail on the upper hand - 3 lengths. Brown stitched all around with finger gussets. Three brown leather button detail to the upper cuff (actual leather circular pieces meant to resemble buttons, hand stitched in beige). Umbrella/parasol cover: Same soft leather as gloves and detail, metal zip along the length and tapered to one end. Two leather circular pieces meant to resemble buttons, one missing at the top). chiltern, leather, leather gloves, leather parasol cover, parasol, parasol cover, gloves, wealth, gold rush, chiltern athenaeum museum, chiltern gold rush

VIEW OF POWDER MAGAZINE USED IN MINING DAYS TO STORE EXPLOSIVES. BUILDING MATERIALS SOLID BRICKCOLOURED REPRINT PHOTOGRAPH OF POWDER MAGAZINE EXTERIOR. SITUATED IN A PADOCK ON SMEATON ROAD APPROX. 2 KM. FROM TOWNSHIP ON LEFT HAND SIDE. A SOLID BUILDING WITH TWO OPENINGS AND ONE SMALL WINDOWlocal history, photography, photographs, mining

.1 BLACK AND WHITE COPY OF PHOTOGRAPH OF CLUNES BUTTER FACTORY, TWO DRAYS UNLOADING CREAM CANS, RIGHT HAND SIDE OF BUILDING. .2 ENLARGED BLACK AND WHITE COPY OF THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPHlocal history, photography, photographs, buildings

THE PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN FROM CREEK PARADE GOVERNMENT BRIDGE CRESWICK ROAD AND BUTTER FACTORY BRIDGE ACROSS TULLAROOP CREEK. GASWORKS..1 ORIGINAL SEPIA LANDSCAPE OF CLUNES MOUNTED ON CARDBOARD. GOVERNMENT AND JUBILEE BRIDGES ACROSS CRESWICK CREEK. GASWORKS NEARBY. .2 BLACK AND WHITE COPY OF THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPH PRINTED ON GLOSS PHOTOGRAPHIC PAPER .3 HAND COLOURED POSTCARD PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPH .4 TWO POSTCARDS WITH SAME PICTURE .5 FOUR SMALL PHOTOGRAPH COPIES WITH SAME PICTURE.1 ON BACK OF PHOTOGRAPH GASWORKS, BRIDGES AND CREEK. 1900 .3 ON FRONT OF POSTCARD GOV. BRIDGE CLUNESlocal history, photography, photographs, bridges and buildings

BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH OF TWO MEN STANDING IN FRONT OF A WEATHER BOARD HOUSE - WOLFENDEN HOUSE. CORNER LESLIE AND SMEATON ROAD CLUNES.HAND WRITTEN IN BLACKLEAD PENCIL WOLFENDEN HOUSE CNR. LESLIE AND SMEATON ROAD.local history, photography, photographs, early citizens

See Marriage Cert in Marriages File 1840-1885 Also Details in Simpson File Belonged to Johanna Simpson married Thomas Draffin on 17th Feb 1880 Presbyterian Church Stawell Silk Taffeta lined wedding dress. Ruffled collar. 18-inch waste. Full length sleeve. Ruched band on upper sleeve. Lower sleeve band attached with matching silk piping which extends into the band as decoration. Garment shaped with two long darts on either side of opening. Opening from neck to below hip uses metal hook and hand sewn eye closing. Lower dress in three sections. Top section is plain matching material attached to the upper garment with piping. Second panel is Ruched material the same material as upper garment. Third lower panel is same material as upper garment consisting of three bands of finely pleated material. Back has pocket on right hip with two pointed flaps and central pleated panel. Back has a Central Bustle extending from back hip to hem. Light Brown with pleated frills at bottom Miss Annie Draffin Mothers Wedding Frock 1880

Two People seated behind a table, a woman on the left holding her hands, the man on the right looking at her.biarri

Two People seated behind a table, a woman on the left gesturing with her hands, the man on the right looking at her.biarri

Two People seated behind a table, a woman on the left gesturing with her hands, the man on the right looking at her.biarri

“Between the devil and the deep blue sea!” is a special work to me for different reasons. It was my first experience ever working with textile, and it was my first major artwork that I made and exhibited in Australia. I moved to Australia in 2011 and lived in Perth for 5 years before I moved to Melbourne in 2016. I didn’t have a chance to make many artworks when I was living in Perth and it was mainly because I needed to work full time in order to afford the living costs. Melbourne was totally different though. I moved to Melbourne after I was awarded Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) to study my PhD at RMIT University. This was a fantastic opportunity for me, not only because it helped me financially, but also because it gave me the opportunity to develop my practice and research experience. Being new in Australia and Melbourne though, I needed to familiarise myself with the art community in Australia and find ways that I can introduce myself and present my art. I knew that exhibiting in Australia will be challenging and I thought I can start with looking for opportunities like group shows and awards. The Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award was the very first one that I applied for and it was definitely a great starting point for me. It gave me the confidence to look for other opportunities and that my decision for working with the material and methods that I had no previous working experience with, was a right one. Between the devil and the deep blue sea! is about a dilemma. A dilemma where on one side there is all the memories of the past, home, family, and friends. Everything that was once a life and now is only a memory. There is the threat of death, terrorism and violence and there is no hope for a better future. On the other side, there is a better chance for staying alive, but there is nothing clear about the future. Where you go and what you will be called; A terrorist? Or someone that is there to take the jobs and money!? We are watching the news and seeing tragic accidents happening all over the world every day, but what makes us indifferent to the suffering of others was something that I became interested to learn more about it. From the beginning of my project, I was interested in discovering more about the notion of indifference and that came from my own position as an observer. I am an Iranian living in Australia. On the one hand, I am observing wars and conflicts in the Middle-East from a distance and on the other hand, from not much a distance! I am living in Australia with a great distance from the Middle-East in terms of the geographical distance and the differences in socio-political situations. On the other hand, and despite Iran’s current safe situation, there is no guarantee for a stable peace in the future. Being not here nor there, I am an observer who won’t be in peace in peaceful Australia, and can’t feel the depth of the pain for people living in war-torn countries such as Syria and Iraq. The indifference phenomena can be studied from different disciplines, however, there can not be a simple and unique explanation for its cause. Regardless of different explanations for the causes of the indifference, what I am most interested in is to explore the ways I can show the “indifference” itself. For this, I seek to focus on my simple interpretation of the phenomena, which in my mind is “seeing tragedy, not tragic.” In other words, whether the indifference is caused by information overload, or distance from the sufferer for example, people don’t feel the pain and can’t understand the conditions others in pain are experiencing. Based on this explanation, the focus of my artworks is to depict and highlight the contradiction between the pain and the indifference. In my art practice, I often use colourful and attractive materials in combination with a visual language that reference to the aftermath of tragic events of wars, to provide a symbolic representation of indifference in the form of an artwork. This is my artistic approach in explaining the notion of “indifference”, that can illustrate my ideas around “seeing tragedy, not tragic”. to give voice to my own concerns and position as an Iranian artist, I am interested in utilising visual elements from traditional arts of Persia and the Middle-East. In selecting rugs and fabrics that I use in my artworks, the weaving quality is not my concern. Moving beyond this, I am looking for features which express and underpin concepts such as antiquity, resistance, simplicity, and peace which sit in stark contrast to the terrorising and militant image of Middle Eastern people portrayed by the mainstream media. Nowruz (Persian New Year) 21 March marks the Persian New Year and the first day of spring in Iranian calendar. It’s the time of the year when all Iranians and many other Farsi speaking nationalities (Afghans, Tajiks, etc.) celebrate together. My wife and I are planning a trip to Iran for the new year holidays and it would be our first time to celebrate the new year with family and friends in Iran since 2011. It is believed that Nowruz has a long history of around 3,000 years and is rooted in Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion that predates both Christianity and Islam. Every year Iranians celebrate this very special event at different times and it’s because the exact time of the new year depends on the exact calculation of when the length of the day and the night are equal. There are many things about the Persian new year to be excited about and sitting around the Haft-Seen table (7sin) with family is with no doubt the most exciting one. Haft-Seen is a set of seven symbolic elements beginning with ‘S’ in Farsi that Iranians arrange them together to decorate a table that family sit around and celebrate the beginning of the new year. The most common items found in Haft-seen decoration are: Sabzeh: Wheat, barley, mung bean or lentil sprouts growing in a dish, Samanu: Sweet pudding made from wheat germ, Senjed: Dried Persian olive. Seer: Garlic Seeb: Apple Somāq: Sumac Serkeh: Vinegar Sekkeh: Coin that symbolise health, wealth, abundance, etc.Wangaratta Art Gallery Collection, Acquired with the assistance of Robert Salzer Foundation.A used Persian Rug that has had a motif of two heads and an explosion hand-stitched onto it.mohsen meysami, textile, rug

The Buddhist monk Guangqia visited Karl Duldig’s studio on two consecutive days, in the company of the noted Chinese writer, Professor Yu Dafu, a friend of Karl’s. Karl made two portraits of the monk, the first depicting him sitting, and the second in a standing pose. The portraits were drawn using a Chinese brush and Indian ink. Surviving sketches in the Studio’s collection indicate that Karl thought about creating a life-size sculpture later on, but this was not realised. Guangqia added inscriptions in his own hand to both drawings and stamped them with a red seal. The seated drawing has an inscription in which he quoted from a Buddhist poem, ‘A Contented Mind’ by the scholar Lingfeng of Mt Tiantai. In the summer I went to visit the Austrian sculptor Duldig with Professor Yu Da Fu. My virtue is slight – I cannot accept your offerings and gifts; I am amply rewarded by the clouds and springs. Rather than a table laden with pearl-like rice, I prefer the wind and leaves falling on my bed. Sitting quietly on my meditation cushion Is sweeter than the wheat offered by a thousand families. The pity is that I am gradually growing old; My bitter journey is not worthy of your offerings. The second drawing has a quote from a Buddhist poem on the study of Chán (Zen) Buddhism, by the famed Chán master, Dàjiàn Huìnéng (638–713): The portrait, with its figure positioned on a scroll-like ground and inscription is reminiscent of traditional Zen Buddhist portraiture. In this school of portraiture, which stretched back to at least the thirteenth century, monks were depicted sitting or standing facing the viewer, and typically the monk added an autographic inscription to the portrait. The portraits were often passed from master to disciple, continuing the disciples’ journey of spiritual enlightenment and were revered for their association with remarkable or holy priests. The Buddhist monk, Guangqai who added his inscription and stamp to the drawings would most certainly have been aware of this tradition. It is likely that Karl was aware of this tradition, one of the points where the studio’s collections of art works from Singapore intersect with the earlier Viennese collections can be found in the Library where a catalogue of an exhibition, 'Ausstellung Ostasiatischer Malerie und Graphik' is held. The Viennese Friends of Asian Art and Culture and the Albertina Museum staged this exhibition of East Asian painting and graphic works in 1932. Such was the internationalism of Duldig’s education in Vienna, that adaption to a new environment and culture in the Straits Settlement was swift, and he was able to interpret the artistic traditions of the place, and make them his own. It is part of the strength of the collection, that in many cases contemporary supporting documentation for the works of art is available. In this case there is a photograph of the Monk with Yu Ta-fu, and Karl and Eva Duldig, outside the studio at the time the drawings were made. Ann Carew 2016The portraits of Guangqai have national and international aesthetic significance. The works of art demonstrate the artist’s skill in capturing the physical appearance and demeanour of his subject, and his ability to adapt his working methods to incorporate traditional Asian materials and cultural practices. The portrait is one of few examples in Melbourne of a central European modernist artists working in, and engaging with Asia, during this period and it is culturally and aesthetically significant for this reason. The portraits are also historically interesting in documenting the life and experiences of Karl Duldig in the Straits Settlement (Singapore). Ann Carew 2016Brush drawing in chinese ink on paper. Seated Buddhist Monk. Chinese calligraphy hand written in black ink. Two red stamps under calligraphy.Signed Karl Duldig in l.r. corner. Dated Singapore 1940 in l.l. corner.

Cogan is a textile artist and her work is political in nature. 'War and Peace' is about the Vietnam War and a statement about patriotism in war, of lessons not learnt, of remembrance and never forgetting. This work is an expression of her feelings towards this time and of her husband's experience who fought in this war. The Republic of Vietnam 'Vietnam Campaign Medal' is from the former country of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). Established in 1966, it was awarded to members of United States, Australian, and New Zealand military forces serving six months or more in support of Republic of Vietnam military operations. The medal is issued with a device known as the 1960 Bar. The bar displays the date of 1960 followed by a dash and a blank space. The unusual appearance was caused by the government of the Republic of Vietnam stating that the 1960 bar would show the dates of the Vietnam War from start to finish, with the ending date placed on the 1960 bar after the South Vietnamese had triumphed over North Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam). Since South Vietnam fell, and the government ceased to exist, an ending date for the 1960 Bar was never established. The Vietnam Campaign Medal is considered a foreign award by the U.S., Australian, and New Zealand governments. The joint Australian and New Zealand campaign medal awarded for service in the Vietnam War is the 'Vietnam Medal'. The obverse of this medal shows the crowned head of Queen Elizabeth II, with titles, while the reverse has the inscription VIETNAM above a symbolic representation of the ideological war in Vietnam. The RSL poppy (the Flanders poppy) has long been a part of Remembrance Day, the ritual that marks the Armistice of 11 November 1918, and is also increasingly being used as part of Anzac Day observances. During the First World War, red poppies were among the first plants to spring up in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium. In soldiers' folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground. The poppy soon became widely accepted throughout the allied nations as the flower of remembrance to be worn on Armistice Day. Today the RSL continues to sell poppies for Remembrance Day to raise funds for its welfare work. "War and Peace' is significant as it explores and highlights a period in history (the Vietnam War), which was contentious both socially and politically. Cogan and her family lived locally, in the Shire of Eltham during this time, and her work is a reflection of the experiences and sentiments of a section of the Nillumbik community. Textile piece. 'War": Cast muslin, machine embroidery onto white calico. Tanin dye, poly thread, side bust view (hand, shoulder and arm). Black machine stiching on shirt and shirt pocket with two vietnam medals. A replica of the 'Vietnam Medal' in muslin is shown reverse and has the inscription VIETNAM above a symbolic representation of the ideological war in Vietnam, which is of a male figure standing between two spherical shapes. The ribbon has a vertical central section of bright yellow which has centrally superimposed on it three thin stripes of red, (representing the South Vietnamese flag) flanked by two stripes of red (representing the Army). On the left is a dark blue stripe representing the Navy and on the right, a light blue stripe representing the Air Force. A replica in muslin of the second medal is the Republic of Vietnam 'Vietnam Campaign Medal' of the former country of South Vietnam. The ribbon has green and white strips with a device bearing the inscription ‘1960 – ‘. The medal is traditionally a gold and white enamelled star with a green, red and gold centre motif. Right hand is touching the medals/heart, while left arm is left resting to the left side over a crutch which ends in a rolled up bandage. 'Peace': Cast muslin, machine embroidery onto calico. Black dye, poly thread and RSL poppy. Side bust view (hand, shoulder and arm). Yellow machine stiching on black shirt and shirt pocket with RSL red poppy on shirt pocket. Right hand is reaching to touch the poppy, while left arm is slightly bent resting on its' left side. Nonetextile, muslin, embroidery, vietnam war, medals, vietnam medal, vietnam campaign medal, rsl poppy, war, peace, armistice, remembrance day, anzac

Geoff Davidson arrived at Dunmoochin around 1968 and began living and working as an apprentice to the potter Robert Main, who was working in a studio rented to him by Clifton Pugh on the Dunmoochin property. When Robert left, Geoff moved into the studio and began collaborating with Clifton Pugh on many projects for a period of 25 years whereby Clifton would decorate pots made by Geoff. Geoff produce the ceramic panels for Leda and the Emu. He mixed and identified the glazes for Clifton, then fired the panels once he had finished painting. Three or four murals were produced in this way, one of which was purchased by Don Dunston (ex-Premier of South Australia) as a gift to his dying wife.Dunmoochin derives its cultural and artistic heritage from the collaborative efforts of a group of artists who purchased land in Cottles Bridge in the early 1950’s. These artists (Pugh) pioneered one of the first artistic communes in Australia and created a lasting vision of how a community can gain knowledge and inspiration from living in a close relationship with nature. Pugh had explored the ‘Leda and the Swan’ mythological themes previously during the sixties in etchings and paintings, although he was more interested in referencing the original myth as allusions to other truths. Pugh was drawn to the Greek myth ‘Leda and the Swan’ in which Zeus transforms into a swan to seduce Leda. Pugh Australianised the myth so that Zeus transformed into an Emu rather than a Swan, and makes a gentle satirical comment on the sexual behaviour of the Australian male, whereby he sees a parallel between this and the proud yet awkward movements and naivety of our national bird. This particular theme was prevalent in Pugh's work right through the 60s and 70s. Leda and the Emu is a work by two prominent local artists (Clifton Pugh and Geoff Davidson) with a national and international reputation.Flat red background, black foliage. Leda is naked and sleeping with head resting in hand. Emu is to the left watching Leda. Drawing style is typical of Pugh’s work: linear, flat and gestural.Signed 'II Clifton'

Piers Bateman was a local artist, held in very high esteem by his peers and community. He was born in Perth in 1947, moving to Eltham in 1955 as a young child with his family. In 1966 Bateman moved to London for eighteen months to develop his craft. In 1969 he settled in St Andrews, where he built a studio. The St Andrews locale is said to have been a strong influence on his work. Bateman’s talent was such that he was promoted and mentored by such ilk as Charles Blackman, Clifton Pugh and Arthur Boyd, among others. Bateman’s work is an intimate dialogue with the environment, renowned for his paintings of the outback, wilderness frontiers and the sea. He spent a year in the mid-seventies sailing the Greek Islands and the French canals to Amsterdam. In 1980 Bateman and Marcus Skipper embarked on a trans-Australian venture to the red centre and across northern Australia from Cairns to Broome. In the mid-eighties Bateman returned to the Mediterranean, before returning to the Australian outback in the late-eighties. His international career continued on an upwards trajectory between the Australian outback and European seas, providing a unique contrast throughout the course of his career. Bateman's work questions our relationship with the natural world, and in particular, reconciling our colonial heritage with our indigenous past. This line of questioning and his genuine response to place is the key to Piers Bateman’s work, for which he is lauded and celebrated. On September 4th 2015, Piers Bateman died in a boating accident on the NSW coast line. Piers Bateman was an instinctive painter whose inspiration came from nature. He reworked and scraped off the paint, moving it around until forms and colours of the landscape took shape. Although Bateman lived in Spain and Italy, his time in Europe made him aware of the contrast between the two continents and the bright clear light that defined the Australian landscape. At the time of this work, Bateman was living in St. Andrews, but travelled regularly to New South Wales and South Australia on painting trips. The ‘Grass Tree’ Xanthorrhoea johnsonii (commonly known as ‘blackboy’) is indigenous to these areas. It is a uniquely Australian, slow growing plant with twenty-eight species growing within Australia. Old examples of this tree are survivors of many wild fires, which can cause their blackened trunk, of one to two metres, branch into two or more heads. These heads consist of thick, rough corky bark, surrounded by long, wiry leaves and flowers that produce seed capsules with hard black seeds. The tree’s ability to be one of the first to flower after a wild fire ensures a food source for many insects and birds.Oil on canvas painting. Detail of three grass trees resting on the side of a mountain/hill. Green and gold palette throughout depicting the colours and light of the Australian landscape. Hand written, low right in capitals: 'BATEMAN'bateman, grass trees, xanthorrhoea johnsonii, landscape